


just desserts

by zhuzhubi



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Bad Parenting, Engagement, Entitled parent, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marriage, Reader is a BAMF, Weddings, but thats a given lmao, spencer reid has repressed trauma, the author is unreasonably proud of the title, we do not like william in the house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26910049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhuzhubi/pseuds/zhuzhubi
Summary: william shows up at the wedding uninvited
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Original Character(s), Spencer Reid/Reader
Kudos: 99





	just desserts

**Author's Note:**

> also on tumblr @zhuzhubii

_Dear (y/n),  
_

_I’d like to congratulate you on your engagement to my son Spencer. The wedding is only a few weeks away, which brings me to the reason I’ve contacted you. I’ve been trying to call Spencer for the past month or so, and he has yet to respond to any of my messages._

_I’m sure Spencer has told you about how many mistakes I made with raising him, but I think it’s time we put those things behind us. I’m a very different man that I was when he was twelve. I’m assuming Spencer didn’t send me a wedding invitation because he still resents me for what happened - I know we have yet to meet, but I think we can both agree that it’s not good for him to be holding on to so much anger. Especially since I’ve already explained why I did what I did and have apologized for it - surely accusing me of molesting and murdering a child was punishment enough?_

_I’m sending this message because I’d like you to ask Spencer to reconsider inviting me to the wedding. My son is nothing if not stubborn, but I know that you - his fiancé - have the power to change his mind. It’s been twenty-three years since I left him and Diana, six since Spencer and I last spoke in person - it’s past time that he and I put this behind us, and I think Spencer knows that deep down. He’s my only child and it would mean so much to me to be there for his wedding._

_Warmest regards,_

_William Reid_

…

It’s exactly fifteen days out from the wedding and you’ve just received what very well may be the most infuriating and _presumptuous_ email you’ll ever have the misfortune to read - your blood is absolutely boiling and you have to physically walk away from your laptop to stop yourself from sending a heat-of-the-moment scathing email in return.

_He’s been calling Spencer for the last month!?_ You’ve noticed Spencer grimacing down at his phone every so often, but you honestly thought it was just work and pre-wedding nervousness (or a combination of the two - he’s worried the team will get called away on a case and miss the wedding). Spencer has _never_ talked about contacting his father - in fact, he barely talks about him _at all_ (and when he does, he never has anything nice to say). Neither of you even _considered_ inviting him - you’re not even sure how the hell he found out about the wedding in the first place, much less how he got your contact information.

Just as you’re sitting back down in front of your computer to type out a response, Spencer emerges from the bathroom, freshly showered with a towel draped over his shoulders. He immediately notices the tension in your shoulders and hurries over, easing himself down next to you and pulling you into his side. “What’s wrong?” he asks, completely oblivious to the offending email open on your laptop less than a foot away.

You bite your lip, not sure if he should read it or not. But your eyes drift towards the laptop subconsciously and he follows your line of sight, furrowing his brow as he leans forwards and pulls the laptop closer -

He slams it shut and makes this horrible frustrated noise, clenching and unclenching his hands as he glares down at the laptop. You’re not sure what to say, so you tentatively place a hand on his thigh - he doesn’t really react but he doesn’t push you away either. You move your hand up and down in firm strokes, applying the amount of pressure you know he likes and waiting for him to collect his thoughts.

After a few minutes he squeezes his eyes shut and leans back, letting his head rest on the back of the couch. He blinks open his eyes and stares up at the ceiling, his expression somewhere in between angry and sad and resigned. “I…,” he starts, trailing off and then blowing out a shaky breath before continuing, “I blocked his number two days ago. I thought that would be enough to make him stop, but apparently not.”

You reach over and brush the hair out of his face, letting your fingers linger on his cheeks as you say, “I was gonna email him back and tell him to…well, to _fuck off_ pretty much. But I can just block him if you want me to.”

He looks at you in surprise, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally asking, “You…you don’t think I should forgive him?”

“I think you should do whatever’s best for _you_ ,” you reply.

His hands tangle together in his lap and he lets his eyes fall down to them, sucking in a sharp breath before responding, “I haven’t talked to them about this but um…my team all thought I should just let it go and forgive him after we closed the Riley Jenkins case. And I kept in contact with him for a while after that, but it was like he…he made me feel like it was _my fault_ for…for _holding a grudge_ or whatever. He was so _entitled_ to my forgiveness, and I just…I’ve tried, but I just _can’t_ do it. I _can’t_ forgive him.”

You close your hands around his in response, massaging the tension away - he sighs and melts into you, leaning forward to rest his forehead on your shoulder. You press a kiss to the crown of his head, feeling his fluffy hair tickle your chin as you whisper, “You don’t have to.”

And Spencer starts to sob against you - this is about more than his father wanting to attend his wedding. It’s about spending years feeling abandoned and then having the very man who walked out in the first place tell him _you’re being petty_ (and some of his friends telling him the same). It’s about a supposed father who put himself before his child, who couldn’t deal with Diana anymore and didn’t even consider how much responsibility that would put on his then-ten-year-old son.

“I don’t want him to come to our wedding,” Spencer says, his voice wet and cracking as he chokes on the words.

“Then he won’t,” you reply, “You don’t ever have to see him again if you don’t want to.” The tension immediately melts out of Spencer at the words - it’s as if he didn’t quite believe it until just then, as if he thought you or someone else would force him to let William attend.

Spencer clearly wants nothing to do with William, and you strongly doubt that’ll ever change - he’ll never have to see his ‘dad’ again if you have anything to say about it.

…

The wedding is going perfectly - the decorations you picked out look even better than you imagined, you and Spencer both tear up a little while reading your vows, the cake is fantastic, Spencer only steps on your toes once during the first dance (and he looks _damn good_ in a tailored suit) - and maybe that should have made you suspicious because seriously, who’s wedding goes perfectly?

You’re sipping champagne and watching Spencer dance with his mom (your mother-in-law!) when Morgan suddenly appears by your side, his jaw tense and alarm flashing through his eyes. He leans in, keeping his voice low as he mutters, “You see that guy over by the entrance? The one who just walked in?”

You glance over and immediately catch sight of a balding, rat-faced white man wearing a suit and an irritating little smile - he’s watching Spencer and Diana with such intensity that you can’t help but find it a little creepy. You’ve never seen him before and, whoever he is, he’s definitely not supposed to be at your wedding -

“That’s William Reid,” Morgan grimaces, “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you guys didn’t invite him.”

It’s not really a question but you reply anyway, practically growling as you mutter, “No. We did not.” You make a split-second decision and shove your drink into Morgan’s hands, a surprising amount of force leaking into your voice as you order, “I’m gonna get him out of here. Your job is to keep Spencer occupied - he will under no circumstances even catch a _glimpse_ of that sonofabitch, got it?”

“Got it,” Morgan replies - you walk away before he has the chance to say anything else, making a beeline for the sorry excuse of a father that is William Reid.

You sneak up on him and clear your throat, smirking a little when he jumps before settling your expression into an exasperated glare. “Why are you here?” you ask him, crossing your arms are readying yourself for what you know will be a pitiful and self-centered explanation.

He bristles under your scrutiny, posturing to try and look more intimidating - you barely manage to stop yourself from rolling your eyes and scoffing in response. He looks you up and down and immediately realizes who you are. “It’s _my son’s_ wedding,” he argues, “I just wanted to be here to see Spencer get married, is that too much to ask?”

And then you really do scoff and roll your eyes, “Considering we _didn’t invite you?_ Uh _yeah_ \- it’s too much to ask.”

“Well, I’ve been _trying_ to contact my son but he never answered,” he bristles, “We _both_ know that holding on to so much resentment isn’t good for him - I said that in the email I sent you, but _you_ never gave me the courtesy of a response either, now did you? And anyway, it’s so unreasonable that he’s still angry with me, so I decided to come anyway because, really - what kind of father would I be if I knowingly missed my only child’s wedding?”

You have the sudden urge to strangle this asshole of a man - you take a deep breath to reign in your fury before responding, “You’d be the kind of father who walks out on their ten-year-old son - oh wait! You _already are!_ ”

“Hey! I apologized for that _six years ago_ \- after Spencer accused me of murdering a child, I might add. I really don’t think -”

“Yeah, you _don’t think_ ,” you interrupt him, “Spencer doesn’t want you here - _end of story_. I’m not going to let you ruin his wedding day, so you need to get the hell out before I call security.”

He just gapes at you in response, sputtering out, “Call security? (y/n)…that’s a little extreme, don’t you think? All I’m doing is attending my son’s wedding -”

You step closer, glaring at him with such force that he practically shrinks beneath your gaze, taking a few steps backward before he can stop himself. “William, shut up and listen,” you say with a chilling calmness, “You weren’t invited to this wedding, and that was _absolutely_ intentional. If you don’t calmly remove yourself _right now_ , I _will_ call security and they _will_ kick you out. So it looks like you have two options right now - quietly leave and drag your sorry ass back to Las Vegas, or let everyone in the room watch as you’re manhandled out of here and possibly ruin Spencer’s day in the process. I’d prefer you go with the first option, but _hey_ \- I’m leaving it completely up to you.”

William recoils, glancing over to Spencer - he’s laughing with Diana over by the catering table, completely oblivious to what’s going on across the room - before wilting and giving you a defeated nod. He turns tail and slinks out of the venue - he pauses and looks back at you for a second, hopeful that you’ll change your mind. You glare at him some more and make a shooing motion with your hand until he turns around once again, _finally_ leaving this time.

You take a moment to inform security of the situation and make sure William won’t be able to sneak back in, then head back over to Spencer, exchanging a knowing smirk with Morgan before you make it back to your husband’s side. You wrap your arms around his waist from behind and giggle when he jumps, spinning around to face you with a delighted grin and waving some kind of tiny desert around.

“(y/n)! You’ve got to try one of these - they’re so good!” he exclaims and you smile, leaning in to kiss him and tasting the sweetness of sugar on his lips. He’s not usually one for public displays of affection, but the wedding (understandably) has him in an extra romantic mood - he opens his mouth into the kiss, tugging you closer with his free hand and -

Someone cheers and jolts back, blushing when he realizes how many of his friends just watched him kiss you (for the second time tonight). You can feel the heat of his cheeks as he buries his face in your neck, a soft chuckle rumbling through him after the embarrassment wears off. You brush a hand over the back of his head and nudge his arm up a little, leaning forward to take a bite of the dessert.

The wedding is going perfectly - Spencer doesn’t need to know about the minor (okay, major) hiccup that happened just a few minutes ago, at least not right now. You smile at him and share desserts, laughing when he gets frosting on his nose and making eyes at him when you wipe it off with a finger and lick it off. _Fuck_ William Reid, that entitled piece of shit didn’t even get _close_ to ruining your wedding.


End file.
